Furniture construction



Oct. 16, 1962 E. w. CAMPBELL 3,058,778

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 9. 1961 INVENTOR. Eugene W. Campbell ATTORNEYS 3,658,778 FURNITURE CONSTRUCTIGN Eugene W. Campbell, 835 Sherman St., Apt. 14, Denver 3, Colo. Filed June 9, 1961, Ser. No. 115,960 3 Claims. (Cl. 297-452) This invention relates to furniture and more particularly to construction of upholstered furniture.

In conventional construction of upholstered furniture, it has been the practice to mount a plurality of springs on a main frame and to tie or otherwise interconnect these springs into a unitary group. This unitary group is then covered with padding and fabric and cushions are then placed on the assembly. This practice has been an attempt to distribute applied weight across all or most of the springs in the group. However, especially in chairs and sofas, weight is substantially always applied in the same general area, and this has the tendency to continuously apply strain to the same portions of the lacing and the same springs.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improved furniture construction, which is particularly suited for upholstered furniture.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved spring suspensioning arrangements for furniture construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide furniture construction in which cushioning springs separately support segments or increments of the weight-supporting sur face thereof, which cushioning springs are independently adjustable over the extent of the Weight-supporting surface to counteract repeated application of weight in localized areas.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide adjustable furniture construction adapted for selective contouring to various body shapes, as well as to selectively cushion various applied Weights.

Briefly, in one embodiment, furniture constructed according to this invention includes a seat portion and an adjustable back portion therefor. Both the seat and back portions are comprised of a plurality of separately supported sections of substantially the same size. Each section is substantially smaller than an assembled unit and each is independently mounted on its own adjustable cushioning spring assembly. The cushioning spring assemblies of the back and those of the seat portions are mounted on separate frames and the back frame is adjustable relative to the seat frame for varying the depth or length of the seat. Further, the group of sections of each of the back and seat portions are adapted for cooperative but separate tensioning of the spring assemblies for various weights and body contours.

Other objects and further features and advantages of furniture construction according to the invention will be apparent from a study of the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in the several views.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of partial construction of a chair embodying the concepts of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of a portion of chair construction of FIG. 1, showing details of one form 3, 58,778 Patented Oct. 16, 1962 of a cushioning spring assembly and a segment of the seat of the chair;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of an alternative cushioning spring assembly usable in constructing fumiture according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of the frame assemblies for back and seat portions of the chair of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 3.

In FIG' 1 an upholstered chair constructed according to the invention is shown in a partially finished state and it includes a back portion 10, a set portion 11, a floorsupported bottom frame :12 spaced above the floor by legs 13, and an adjustable back frame 14. An arm 15 is shown attached to one side of the chair. In the finished chair, of course, a duplicate arm would be included on the other side. And if no arms are desired, this is likewise within my concepts.

The bottom or seat portion 11 of the chair is comprised of a plurality of pads or segments 16 of substantially equal dimension and adapted to cooperate with each other to form a contiguous weight-supporting surface for the seat portion. Each segment is considerably smaller than a seat or back of a conventional sized chair. The back portion 10 is likewise comprised of a plurality of pads or segments 1a which cooperate with each other to form a contiguous weight-supporting surface for the back.

Each of the segments 16 is independently and separately supported on its ovm cushioning spring assembly 17 at an upper end thereof. The bottom end of each of the plural cushioning spring assemblies is mounted on one of the slats 18 which are mounted across the side members 19.

Referring to FIG. 2, each of the segments 16 is mounted on a platform 20, preferably of slightly smaller dimension than the segment 16. Each platform 20 is mounted on or otherwise attached to the upper end of an elongated shaft 21 of a cushioning spring assembly 17. The lower end of each shaft 22 is externally threaded and is telescoped through a sleeve 23, which is integrally mounted or otherwise fixed on one of the slats 18, and extends through the slat. Between the upper surface of the slat 18 and the bottom surface of a platform 20 is positioned a coil spring 24. Tension of each spring 24 is adjustable by a nut 25 threadedly mounted on the threaded portion 22 of a shaft 21 which protrudes through the slat.

Each of the segments 16 is preferably a self-sustaining body and may be fabricated of any of the well known padding materials, such as natural or synthetic fibers, foamed resins or rubbers, rubberized hair and the like. The platform 20 is preferably flat and may be fabricated of cast metal, plastic, leather, wood or the like and in some instances of a relatively thick, resilient pad of rubber. Rubber, plastic and leather platform construction permits some bending and deformation, thereby lending more comfort due to give or bend with the Weight of a person. Further, it may be sometimes desirable to curve the platforms 20 in a manner that adjacent ones cooperate to form desired body-conforming contours. The segments 16 are adhesively bonded or otherwise joined on the upper surface of the respective pads 20 to prevent relative movement therebetween.

The shafts 21 are preferably non-circular and the internal configuration of the sleeve 23 is so formed as to reciprocal movement and prevent rotation of the shafts in the sleeves.

In FIG. 3 an alternative cushioning spring assembly is shown. It is comprised of an upper pad or segment 16a, a platform 20a and a sprnig 24a, which are similar to the like parts in the assembly of FIG. 2. However, a shaft 30 and a sleeve 31 are provided which are fabricated in a difierent manner. extend through a slat 18 but is adapted to be sustained pr supported Within the sleeve 31 by the selective insertion of a locking pin 32. A plurality of'spaced apertures formed transversely through the shaft 30 is adapted for selectively positioning the pin- 32 in the shaft. The ends of the pin ride in elongated slots 33 formed through opposite sides of the sleeve 31 (see FIG. Selective insertion of the pin 32 through various of the apertures formed through shaft 30 allow various spring tensions. Also, by the provision of the elongated slot 33 in sleeve 31 more resiliency or apparent softness and give is provided in the seat portion of a chair having this arrangement. When a person sits in the chair, pressure is exerted on segment 16a through platform 20a to move shaft 30 downwardly in opposition to the spring 24a. The foregoing downward movement is limited by the lower extremity of slot 33 and when the weight of a person is removed from segment 16a the return or recovery of the segment and spring is limited by the upper extremity of slot 33.

Further, with the arrangement of FIG. 3 a cylindrical shaft 30 may be used since rotation is prevented by pin 31 cooperating with slot 33. This may be a less expensive and thus more economical construction. However, the arrangement of FIG. 2 permits a greater range and accuracy of spring tensioning by tightening or loosening nut 25 on the threaded end 22 of shaft 21.

The pads or segments 16' which make up the back portion of the chair are similar to segments 16 and are mounted on cushioning spring assemblies similar to those supporting the pad 16. A plurality of slats similar to slats 18 extend transversely of the back frame 14 and are adapted to have their end portions maintained in one of the slots 14a formed through the frame 14. The lower end of each side of frame 14 is fastened to one of the bottom frame members 19 by a pair of spaced bolts 35 which pass through a slot 36 (FIG. 4) formed through frame members 19. Suitable locking means such as nuts or the like, which are not shown in the drawings, are used to fix bolts 35 in place and thus hold frame 14 in a fixed relation with bottom frame 12. Because of the length of slot 36 and the relative spacing of bolts 35, it is possible to move the back frame 14 back and forth relative to frame l2. With this arrangement, the relative depth of the seat portion carried by frame 12 may be varied.

In practice, I prefer to have the uppermost row of pads The shaft 3% need not' In discussing the adjustable feature of the back frame 14 by which the relative depth of the seat portion may be varied, I noted that a slot 36 was formed in the bottom frame members 19. I also provide for this feature by forming a plurality of spaced apertures or holes through frame members 19 which are adapted for selective reception of the bolts 35.

While the foregoing description has been relative to the construction of a chair, it is obvious that it is equally applicable to the construction of sofas, chaise lounges, stools or hassocks, and similar items of furniture. It is equally applicable to construction of such as automobile seats and other vehicle furniture. One of the desirable features of my construction in such furniture is the ease with which covers may be changed and removed for cleaning and washing.

One valuable aspect of the invention is case of assembly without special tools. This permits the furniture to be shipped in a knocked-down condition (disassembled), to save shipping space, and it is then easily assembled by unskilled persons.

Having thus described my invention with sufficient particularity and detail as to allow those skilled in the art to practice it, what I desire to have protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is: a

1. An article of furniture having at least a seat portion, said portion composed of a plurality of substantially identical separate sections mounted in juxtaposition and cooperating to form a contiguous upper surface, each section including a relatively thick upper pad portion, fabricated of a relatively soft material, a relatively thin bottom portion bonded to the bottom of each pad and fabricated of a relatively stiff yet bendable material, and the upper surfaces of the plurality of pads cooperating to form the contiguous upper surface, each of the separate sections independently supported on a separate resilient cushioning assembly, a floor supported frame, each of the resilient cushioning assemblies including telescoping upper and lower sections, the upper section of each of the cushioning assemblies being the smaller and being attached to the relatively thin bottom portion of each of the plurality of sections, and the lower section of the cushioning assembly being larger and extending upwardly from the floor supported frame, a coil spring encompassing each resilient cushioning assembly and extending between the lower portion of the plurality of separate sections and an upper surface of the floor supported or segments 16" on the back portion 10 fixed. This is for economy in production and since the uppermost row encounters relatively small ranges of weight, the inclusion of an adjustable spring assembly is not always necessary. However, it should be understood that in some constructions, such as those wherein the back portion is lower and wherein they would contact a relatively increased amount of weight, the cushioning spring assemblies are desirable.

When an item of furniture has been constructed according to'the foregoing teachings, I prefer to provide a loose covering somewhat in the nature of a furniture slip cover for the bottom and back portions of the chair. The cover may be one-piece or it may be two pieces, one for the seat and a separate one for the back. To the end I provide a fabric engaging hook 40 at each corner of the bottom surface of the respective platforms 29 or 20a to which a cover may have its peripheral edge portions selectively attached.

frame arranged to resist forces exerted on the contiguous surface formed of the plurality of separate sections, and means carried by each of the resilient cushioning assemblies arranged to prevent relative rotation of parts thereof and to selectively vary spring tension.

2. An article of furniture having a back portion and a seat portion, a floor supported frame for the seat portion, and a back frame for the back portion, both the back portion and the seat portion composed of a plurality of separate sections mounted in juxtaposition and cooperating to form a contiguous back surface and a contiguous seat surface respectively, each of the plurality of separate sections including a relatively thick upper pad portion fabricated of a relatively soft material and a relatively thin bottom portion bonded to the lower surface of each pad and fabricated of a stiff yet bendable material, each of the plurality of separate sections having an independent cushioning spring assembly extending between the relatively thin bottom. portions thereof and the floor supported seat frame, each said cushioning assembly'including' a lower portion extending upwardly from the frame and an upper portion extending downwardly from each of the separate sections, the upper and lower portions "of the cushioning assembly arranged for selective telescoping relative to each other, a coil spring encompassing the upper and lower portions of the cushioning assembly and extending from the seat frame to the bottom portion of each of the separate sections, whereby said spring normally maintains the plurality of separate sections to form a co tiguous surface but arranged to resist forces exerted on said surface when weight is placed thereon, said back frame selectively movable the length of the floor supported seat frame, means cooperating with the seat frame and the back frame to lock them in selective position thereby defining the depth of the seat frame, and means carried by each of the separate resilient cushioning assemblies arranged to vary the relative compression of the respective coil springs.

3. The article of furniture of claim 2 in which means 6 are carried by the relatively thin lower portion of each of the plurality of separate sections arranged to cooperate for maintaining a cover over the plurality of separate sections forming the seat portion and a cover over the plurality of separate sections forming the back portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 97,579 Wittram Dec. 7, 1869 564,588 Burgess July 28, 1896 608,089 Wellmann n July 16, 1898 2,799,323 Berg July 16, 1957 

